scholarly journals Enhancing Health System Resilience: Practical and Cost-effective Approaches to Face the COVID-19 Pandemic by Base Hospital UdugamaSri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
KJMD Taranga ◽  
GHS Fernando
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
World Health ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Base Hospital ◽  
System Resilience ◽  
The Government

COVID-19 is a pandemic from pneumonia of unknown origin, first reported in Wuhan city China as information extracted from the World Health Organization. It was first reported in Sri Lanka on 27 January 2020 by a Chinese tourist. Handing the COVID-19 situation with scarce recourses within a limited time was challenging for the government hospitals. This paper aims to describe the practical and cost-effective actions implemented at the Base Hospital Udugama to enhance the health system resilience to prepare, respond to, and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. We did a retrospective evaluation of the COVID-19 control project at the Base Hospital Udugama. The daily interventions carried out at the Base Hospital Udugama to prepare, respond and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic were documented in a journal. Also, we preserved evidence through photographs while collecting data from the routine hospital records. The temporally established COVID-19 coordinating committee managed all the activities. The committee increased awareness among staff and the public, maintained stock of Personal Protective Equipment, established preventive measures, established an isolation unit, arranged community sample collection, continued essential routine healthcare services and distribution of the clinic drugs to the doorsteps of the patients while protecting the Hospital staff against COVID-19. Even though the management of the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge to the Base Hospital Udugama, with strong leadership and effective coordination with different units and departments within and beyond the hospital, it was possible to manage the response efficiently and effectively. We recommend enhancing the health system's resilience through timely investments in peripheral hospitals coupled with capacity building targeting multiple hazards, including pandemics. Keywords: COVID 19, Pandemic, Prevention, Resilience, Preparedness, Response.

Closing the Gap

2010 ◽  
pp. 38-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malina Jordanova
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
World Health ◽  
World Health Assembly Resolution ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Cost

Brought to life by contemporary changes of our world, e-health offers enormous possibilities. In the World Health Organization’s World Health Assembly resolution on e-health, WHO has defined e-health as the cost-effective and secure use of information and communication technologies in support of health and health-related fields, including healthcare services, health surveillance, health literature, and health education (WHO, 2005). It is impossible to have a detailed view of its potential as e-health affects the entire health sector and is a viable tool to provide routine, as well as specialized, health services. It is able to improve both the access to, and the standard of, health care. The aim of the chapter is to focus on how e-health can help in closing one gap - optimizing patient care. The examples included and references provided are ready to be introduced in practice immediately. Special attention is dedicated to cost effectiveness of e-health applications.

scholarly journals What makes health systems resilient against infectious disease outbreaks and natural hazards? Results from a scoping review

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer B. Nuzzo ◽  
Diane Meyer ◽  
Michael Snyder ◽  
Sanjana J. Ravi ◽  
Ana Lapascu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Health System ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
World Health ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
System Resilience

Abstract Background The 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak was a wake-up call regarding the critical importance of resilient health systems. Fragile health systems can become overwhelmed during public health crises, further exacerbating the human, economic, and political toll. Important work has been done to describe the general attributes of a health system resilient to these crises, and the next step will be to identify the specific capacities that health systems need to develop and maintain to achieve resiliency. Methods We conducted a scoping review of the literature to identify recurring themes and capacities needed for health system resiliency to infectious disease outbreaks and natural hazards and any existing implementation frameworks that highlight these capacities. We also sought to identify the overlap of the identified themes and capacities with those highlighted in the World Health Organization’s Joint External Evaluation. Sources of evidence included PubMed, Web of Science, OAIster, and the websites of relevant major public health organizations. Results We identified 16 themes of health system resilience, including: the need to develop plans for altered standards of care during emergencies, the need to develop plans for post-event recovery, and a commitment to quality improvement. Most of the literature described the general attributes of a resilient health system; no implementation frameworks were identified that could translate these elements into specific capacities that health system actors can employ to improve resilience to outbreaks and natural hazards in a variety of settings. Conclusions An implementation-oriented health system resilience framework could help translate the important components of a health system identified in this review into specific capacities that actors in the health system could work to develop to improve resilience to public health crises. However, there remains a need to further refine the concept of resilience so that health systems can simultaneously achieve sustainable transformations in healthcare practice and health service delivery as well as improve their preparedness for emergencies.

scholarly journals Health system resilience in managing the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from Singapore

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. e003317
Author(s):  
Alvin Qijia Chua ◽  
Melisa Mei Jin Tan ◽  
Monica Verma ◽  
Emeline Kai Lin Han ◽  
Li Yang Hsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Legal Foundation ◽  
Imported Cases ◽  
Rapid Transmission ◽  
At Risk Populations ◽  
System Resilience ◽  
The Government

Singapore, one of the first countries affected by COVID-19, adopted a national strategy for the pandemic which emphasised preparedness through a whole-of-nation approach. The pandemic was well contained initially until early April 2020, when there was a surge in cases, attributed to Singapore residents returning from hotspots overseas, and more significantly, rapid transmission locally within migrant worker dormitories. In this paper, we present the response of Singapore to the COVID-19 pandemic based on core dimensions of health system resilience during outbreaks. We also discussed on the surge in cases in April 2020, highlighting efforts to mitigate it. There was: (1) clear leadership and governance which adopted flexible plans appropriate to the situation; (2) timely, accurate and transparent communication from the government; (3) public health measures to reduce imported cases, and detect as well as isolate cases early; (4) maintenance of health service delivery; (5) access to crisis financing; and (6) legal foundation to complement policy measures. Areas for improvement include understanding reasons for poor uptake of government initiatives, such as the mobile application for contact tracing and adopting a more inclusive response that protects all individuals, including at-risk populations. The experience in Singapore and lessons learnt will contribute to pandemic preparedness and mitigation in the future.

scholarly journals Methods for assessing the need for health financing: international experience (analytical review)

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-268
Author(s):  
Elena G. Potapchik
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Health Spending ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Health Financing ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Experience ◽  
World Health ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Spending Growth ◽  
The Government

There has been an active discussion on estimating the need for public funding of the domestic health system. An analysis of international experience can be helpful to determine methodological approaches to estimate the market for government spending on the Russian health system. Aim. To systemize and summarize approaches and methods used in international practice to estimate the need for health financing; to highlight the most important factors dictating the need for additional funding. Material and methods. A systematic search with the developed protocol for publications, a comprehensive analysis and systematization of the obtained information. The protocol included databases of peer-reviewed publications, search terms, and search restrictions. The search for publications was carried out in the databases of Embase, Pubmed, Medline, Global Health, etc., on the websites of international organizations (World Health Organization (WHO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), etc.). The search strategy included a combination of the terms “free text” and “Medical subject heading”, which refer to the definition of the need for health financing. The main limitations of the search were the language of publications (English and Russian) and the date of publication (not earlier than 2000). Results. Of the two used in international practice approaches to estimate the need for health financing, a system based on the use of the current level of funding and its forecasting under several factors is used in developed countries. Forecasting health expenditures is one of the most effective tools to identify critical factors affecting needs for sector financing. Despite the variety of indicators and methods used, most studies agree that non-demographic factors, such as GDP growth and technology development, influence health spending growth to the greatest extent. Demographic factors per se, including population ageing, affect health spending growth to a lesser extent. Conclusion. Conducting scenario forecasts contributes to a better understanding of what can happen in the future if the government does not act. This also contributes to a more clear determining of the main spheres for government interventions in the health sector.

scholarly journals Health System Resilience: What Are We Talking About? A Scoping Review Mapping Characteristics and Keywords

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
My Fridell ◽  
Sanna Edwin ◽  
Johan von Schreeb ◽  
Dell D. Saulnier
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
World Health ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
System Resilience ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Key Terms

Background: Health systems are based on 6 functions that need to work together at all times to effectively deliver safe and quality health services. These functions are vulnerable to shocks and changes; if a health system is unable to withstand the pressure from a shock, it may cease to function or collapse. The concept of resilience has been introduced with the goal of strengthening health systems to avoid disruption or collapse. The concept is new within health systems research, and no common description exists to describe its meaning. The aim of this study is to summarize and characterize the existing descriptions of health system resilience to improve understanding of the concept. Methods and Analysis: A scoping review was undertaken to identify the descriptions and characteristics of health system resilience. Four databases and gray literature were searched using the keywords "health system" and "resilience" for published documents that included descriptions, frameworks or characteristics of health system resilience. Additional documents were identified from reference lists. Four expert consultations were conducted to gain a broader perspective. Descriptions were analysed by studying the frequency of key terms and were characterized by using the World Health Organization (WHO) health system framework. The scoping review identified eleven sources with descriptions and 24 sources that presented characteristics of health system resilience. Frequently used terms that were identified in the literature were shock, adapt, maintain, absorb and respond. Change and learning were also identified when combining the findings from the descriptions, characteristics and expert consultations. Leadership and governance were recognized as the most important building block for creating health system resilience. Discussion: No single description of health system resilience was used consistently. A variation was observed on how resilience is described and to what depth it was explained in the existing literature. The descriptions of health system resilience primarily focus on major shocks. Adjustments to long-term changes and the element of learning should be considered for a better understating of health system resilience.

scholarly journals Perlindungan Pasien di Era BPJS Kesehatan

Ijtihad ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Firdaus Firdaus
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health System ◽  
National Health Insurance ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Patient Protection ◽  
Implementation Aspects ◽  
The Government ◽  
Implementation Management ◽  
To Receive

BPJS Health is a mandatory National Health Insurance imposed by the government to all Indonesian citizens to ensure that everyone is able to receive healthcare services. The first objective is to analyze patient protection under the said the Law No. 24 of 2011 on BPJS. The second objective is to identify the challenges of the implementation, management, and monitoring of the BPJS Health Insurance Institution. Findings from the study show that there are advantages and disadvantages in the BPJS Health system, as not all citizens are involved as participants. Further, the health services are unequal in respect of services rendered in different provinces in Indonesia. As a conclusion, the researcher had provided several recommendations from the legal and implementation aspects to strengthen the existing BPJS Health system, so that it can effectively protect all patients.

Why telehealth does not always save money for the health system

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Centaine L. Snoswell ◽  
Monica L. Taylor ◽  
Liam J. Caffery
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Frequency Of Contact ◽  
Traditional Service ◽  
Implementation Costs

PurposeThis study aims to determine elements of telehealth that have the potential to increase costs for the health system in the short to medium term.Design/methodology/approachA search of PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus databases was performed in May 2018 using broad terms for telehealth and economics. Articles were included if they identified and explained reasons for an increase in cost for telehealth services. Studies were categorised by economic analysis type for data extraction and descriptive synthesis.FindingsFourteen studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. These studies identified that increased health system costs were due to implementation costs (e.g. for equipment, software or staff training), increased use of other healthcare services (e.g. pharmaceutical services) and ongoing service costs (including staff salaries) resulting from telehealth being additive to traditional service (e.g. increased frequency of contact).Originality/valueTelehealth is often assumed to be a cost-effective method of delivering healthcare, even to the point where direct cost savings are expected by decision makers as a result of implementation. However, this investigation suggests it does not routinely reduce costs for the health system and can actually increase costs at both implementation and ongoing service delivery stages. Health services considering implementing telehealth should be motivated by benefits other than cost reduction such as improved accessibility, greater patient centricity and societal cost–benefit.

scholarly journals Strengthening health system building blocks: configuring post-COVID-19 scenario in Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babar Tasneem Shaikh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Health System ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Government

Abstract Aim: To gauge the level of preparedness of health system of Pakistan in the wake of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The global COVID-19 outbreak and its subsequent repercussions and implications, after being declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), exposed all the inherent, lingering, and acute shortcomings of the health systems in many developing countries and Pakistan was no exception. Methods: A detailed literature review was done which included peer-reviewed articles on COVID-19 and health system, published in local and international journals, WHO and World Bank’s publications, and the documents and official reports of the government. Focus was to glean and cite strategies adopted by the developing countries in response to COVID-19 and to see the applicability of those which are feasible for Pakistan. Findings: Level of preparedness was minimal and the response to manage the outbreak was weak. Based on toll of the cases and number of deaths, this public health threat turned out to be a catastrophe beyond the controlling authority and capacity of the health system, and hence other sectors and agencies had to be engaged for devising a concerted and integrated response to deal with the emergency. Governance was disorderly, financing was inadequate, human resources were not trained, supplies and logistic were not stocked, information system was patchy, and research capacity was limited, and most of all the service delivery was in a biggest chaos of times. COVID-19 demanded to re-configure the health system of Pakistan. Conclusion: Improving the emergency preparedness of the hospitals is the foremost and an urgent need. A strong national public health system in Pakistan is needed to rapidly investigate and analyze the reports, assess the magnitude of the public health risk, share real-time information, and implement public health control measures in a concerted and systematic demeanor.

scholarly journals Investigating Health-Related Features and Their Impact on the Prediction of Diabetes Using Machine Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1173
Author(s):  
Hafiz Farooq Ahmad ◽  
Hamid Mukhtar ◽  
Hesham Alaqail ◽  
Mohamed Seliaman ◽  
Abdulaziz Alhumam
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
World Health ◽  
Evaluation Metrics ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is one of the most common chronic diseases leading to severe health complications that may cause death. The disease influences individuals, community, and the government due to the continuous monitoring, lifelong commitment, and the cost of treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers Saudi Arabia as one of the top 10 countries in diabetes prevalence across the world. Since most of its medical services are provided by the government, the cost of the treatment in terms of hospitals and clinical visits and lab tests represents a real burden due to the large scale of the disease. The ability to predict the diabetic status of a patient with only a handful of features can allow cost-effective, rapid, and widely-available screening of diabetes, thereby lessening the health and economic burden caused by diabetes alone. The goal of this paper is to investigate the prediction of diabetic patients and compare the role of HbA1c and FPG as input features. By using five different machine learning classifiers, and using feature elimination through feature permutation and hierarchical clustering, we established good performance for accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score of the models on the dataset implying that our data or features are not bound to specific models. In addition, the consistent performance across all the evaluation metrics indicate that there was no trade-off or penalty among the evaluation metrics. Further analysis was performed on the data to identify the risk factors and their indirect impact on diabetes classification. Our analysis presented great agreement with the risk factors of diabetes and prediabetes stated by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and other health institutions worldwide. We conclude that by performing analysis of the disease using selected features, important factors specific to the Saudi population can be identified, whose management can result in controlling the disease. We also provide some recommendations learned from this research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document